Egglaying in ALASKA???

[JenEric Farms]

So, i have a friend at work who is originally from Alaska and we were talking about the times when it is daylight all day/night.

What's that do to the laying...do they sleep...do they have to be kept inside with sunshades...I don't get it...

 

[Imp]

When I lived in Anchorage, it wasn't like noon 24 hours a day during the summer. It was more like dusk ran into dawn, for a few hours. The sun circled the horizon. So I think there, the chickens would roost just for a shorter amount of time, unless you kept the coop dark. Not sure about points farther north. Hopefully some of the members in Fairbanks or North Pole will chime in.

Imp

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

In the winter when it's dark most of the time we have lights on timers in the coops.
In the summer the hens do stay up late and get up early. We curently have about 23 hours of light and 1 hour of dusk. Our egg laying is up from 6-9 a day winter average to 19-26 a day with the same number of hens.

 

[redtailross]

I live about 400 miles north of Anchorage, think about 150 miles south of the Arctic Circle...

the sun really does just circle the horizon here, and we currently have no darkness. It gets like its cloudy..for about two hours then the sun is coming up..

I have noticed the chickens go to roost about 9.00pm, the rooster then crows us up about 3am. he is the first up and the hens follow...

Mine lay their eggs during the day all year round....
In the winter they get 8 hours of artifical daylight when its at its darkest, in december dawn is a t 10.00am and dusk is at 2.00pm.

We had no heat this year either with the coldest winter on record for decades, reached -50 below and lower, and they had eggs right the way through...

They just get used to it like people they adapt to their environment, like any animal would. Their ciracdian rhythm tends to stay intact.

 

[AkTomboy]

I live in Delta Jct. The Alacan ends in my town. We have our hens laying all year around and as far as the summers go for them sleeping they get tired just like we do. Normal moring chores feed horses, dogs, alpacas, chickens and crib midget. Then night is the reverse. In the winter they get a light thats on a timer more for me to see what Im doing than them but hey whatever it is it works.

 

[JenEric Farms]

Thanks for all the responses. It's interesting to know.